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April 13, 2012

Welcome to the second installment of Handmade Friday at Blueberry
Squash! Learn more about Handmade Friday, and how to get involved at
this blog post.
This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Vivian from Valtline about
her line of organic childrens clothing, and it is my pleasure to share the
interview with you.

Brooke: Your clothing line is so unique - where do your design inspirations come from?

Vivian: Kids, animals, and nature are the obvious culprits. I
love for kids’ designs to have a sense of humor and to be a little
complex; something that children will be interested in and maybe learn
something from. (In addition to being an artist/mom, I’m also an
educator.) I design things specifically with my very inquisitive boys
in mind- if it’s fun and interesting for them, then I go for it.

Brooke: The colors and designs you chose are so vibrant! What are your favorite color combinations?

Vivian: I have a background in fine arts and mixing paints is
one of my favorite things to do. I love to pair analogous colors, like
aqua and sky blue. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the versatility
of grey is highly appealing to me and in my personal wardrobe I use a
lot of neutrals.

Brooke: How did you come up with your shop name?

Vivian: When I first started doing clothes, I was planning to
do a lot of re-purposing of old fabrics. Valt was a combination of my
name and altered. I liked the word play in Valtline - it’s a line of
clothing, but it also sounds like fault line- which evoked a very
active, creative zone.

Brooke: If someone were looking for the perfect baby shower gift in your shop, which product would you recommend?

Vivian: As a mom, I think it’s nicer to buy something a little
further into the future. You get so many clothes for a newborn, but
babies grow so fast! I put together gift boxes that are for the growing
baby with items in a range of sizes. You can choose from a three piece
gift pack (choose from long or short sleeve onesies and sleepers), or a
two-piece gift pack that includes a onesie/sleeper and a hoodie.
Babies in hoodies are the absolute cutest!

Brooke: What materials do you use for your clothing line?

Vivian: I use American made high quality garments, organic
cotton when available. I hand dye the brightly colored clothing myself,
since I couldn’t find the colors that I wanted from distributors. For
my silkscreens, I use water-based inks which are soft to the touch and
better for the environment. All of my clothing is tested on my boys,
and it has to be durable.

Brooke: When you are not designing and creating childrens wear, what are your other interests?

Vivian: I spend as much time as possible doing mom stuff with
my boys, and whenever I can I pull them into my creative orbit. My
oldest son covets the time he gets to spend “helping” me in my studio.

Painting and photography are my first loves, but I love to
try new things. Fabric and felting are making their way into my fine
art as well as my shop these days. This week, I’ve been trying my hand
at calligraphy.

Brooke: Where can we find your shop, and connect with you on the web?

Vivian: We have recently relocated to Athens, Georgia and our
next show will be the Athens Indie Craftstravaganza which coincides with
the fabulous Twilight Criterium bike race through downtown Athens. Our
Brooklyn designs are still available through A Shoe Grows in Brooklyn, a
new retail store in Park Slope, Brooklyn. To keep up with us as we
appear at shows around the Southeast, and for discounts on our Etsy shop, subscribe to our mailing list, visit our website & check out our blog. We can also be found on Twitter & Facebook.

Brooke: Thank you so much for sharing your products, and creative spirit with our readers!

* I was not compensated in any way to review this company. Images courtesy of Valtline.